Valentine's Day 2012

Today is Valentine's Day, a day set aside for expressions of love and affection. The traditional western holiday has spread to many countries around the globe, despite some efforts by religious and cultural groups to fight its adoption. Valentine's Day spending in the U.S. this year is expected to reach nearly $15 billion -- $2 billion of it on flowers alone. Ninety percent of the flowers Americans will give to their sweethearts are imported, and nearly all of those imports originate in Colombia and Ecuador. Included in today's posting is an 18-photo series depicting the voyage of the roses from South American farm to florists worldwide.

Thai-Swedish couple William Timhede, 23, left, and Napatsawan Timhede, 39, swing out on a rappelling rope as part of an adventure-themed wedding ceremony in Prachinburi province, Thailand, on February 13, 2012, on the eve of Valentine's Day.#

(1 of 18) An aerial view of the Rio Roses farm where workers are preparing roses for export before the upcoming Valentine's Day in Cayambe, Ecuador, on February 8, 2012. Ninety percent of the flowers Americans will give to their sweethearts are imported, and nearly all of those imports originate in Colombia and Ecuador.#

(3 of 18) A worker picks out roses for Valentine's Day, at a farm in Cajica, Colombia, on January 30, 2012. Colombia exports 450 million flowers for Valentine's Day, and flower farmers say that day alone accounts for 12 percent of their annual income.#

(4 of 18) Workers select roses to be packed ahead of Valentine's Day at a flower farm of "The Elite flowers" company in Facatativa, near Bogota, Colombia, on February 1, 2012. In giant greenhouses outside Bogota, the flowers are clipped and shipped worldwide, accounting for 65 percent of the roses imported in the United States and many of the bouquets delivered in Europe.#

(9 of 18) An Ecuadorean police dog named Simon sniffs for drugs in flowers packed for export and ready to be loaded onto cargo planes at Quito's Mariscal Sucre International Airport, in Ecuador, on February 10, 2012.#

(11 of 18) A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialist uses a magnifying glass to look at a snail that he found and placed in a bottle to identify later, while inspecting flowers for any foreign pests or diseases at the UPS facility at Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, on February 10, 2012.#

(13 of 18) A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialist holds a bottle containing a tiny snail that he found and placed in the bottle to identify later while inspecting flowers for foreign pests or diseases at the UPS facility at Miami International Airport February 10, 2012.#

A Muslim couple takes pictures at the "Million Lights, Million Hearts" display ahead of Valentine's Day celebrations at Shah Alam commercial hub i-City, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on February 13, 2012. Islamic authorities in Muslim-majority Malaysia have been conducting raids on Valentine's Day after an edict was issued in 2005 banning Muslims from celebrating the occasion, considered a Western celebration that could erode Muslim's faith.#

A couple place a lock on a bridge railing of the so-called "Bridge of Love" to celebrate St. Valentine's Day in Kiev, Ukraine, on February 14, 2012. Words on the lock reads "Love forever". Hundreds of locks that lovers leave as the symbols of their love decorate the bridge, covered with the names of the couples.#

A patissier serves chocolate syrup to visitors at a "chocolate spa" at the Hakone Yunessun spa resort facilities in Hakone town, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, on February 12, 2012. The spa is the venue for the month-long event amid the celebrations for St. Valentine's Day.#

Pakistani women belonging to religious party Jamiat-e-Ulama Pakistan shout slogans as they set fire to a Valentine's card during a protest against Valentine's day in Karachi, on February 14, 2012. Valentine's Day is increasingly celebrated in Pakistan, a Muslim country where many conservatives disapprove of the occasion as a Western import.#

In a celebration of Valentine's Day, couples try to set the record for the largest synchronized kiss in Virginia on the Loudoun Street Pedestrian Mall in Winchester, Virginia, on February 11, 2012. The record of 97 couples was set last year at the first Big Kiss.#

Thai-Swedish couple William Timhede, 23, left and Napatsawan Timhede, 39, are chased by an actor in pirate costume as part of an adventure-themed wedding ceremony in Prachinburi province, Thailand, on February 13, 2012, on the eve of Valentine's Day.#

An employee applies gold leaf to a client's face at the Viet My beauty salon in Hanoi, Vietnam, on February 13, 2012. Despite tough economic conditions, including soaring inflation, people in Vietnam seem to be spending heavily as usual on special occasions like Valentine's Day. Viet My is one of a small number of salons in Vietnam that provides 24k gold leaf face mask therapy, said to help make skin whiter. A single facial costs 1.8 million Vietnam dong ($86.41).#

Lela Mc Arthur, left, and Stephanie Figarelle, both from Anchorage, Alaska, pose for photos on the observation deck after their Valentine's Day wedding ceremony at the Empire State Building, in New York City, on February 14, 2012. The two women, who met at the University of Alaska, became the first same-sex couple to be married at the Empire State Building.#

Since 2011, August 12 has been set aside as World Elephant Day, supported by numerous conservation agencies as a day to “spread awareness, share knowledge, and provide solutions for better care and management of both captive and wild elephants.”